4 ms·
There are so many other possible factors: timings, interactions with other processes, memory allocations, network conditions, etc. A random seed is just one of
by joosters 7y ago
There are so many other possible factors: timings, interactions with other processes, memory allocations, network conditions, etc. A random seed is just one of several non-deterministic factors that could have been the cause.
- bmm6o 7y agoFair enough, though interactions with other processes and network conditions are not relevant for unit tests. Timings maybe, but then you still need a strategy to turn a failing test into information you can use to fix a bug.
- joosters 7y agoI have horrible memories of time spent tracking down other test failures caused by helper programs not shutting down cleanly, and causing obscure bugs in later tests. e.g. a test failing because it couldn’t bind to port 443, because an earlier test helper program sometimes didn’t clean up properly. That’s just one possibility for a process and/or network condition that ruins a test.